Ade Bantu is a Nigerian-German musician, producer, activist, lecturer, public speaker and grenzgänger. He is the founder of the band, Bantu (Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity), and the Afro-German NGO & Musical collective, Brothers Keepers.  He currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria

Deservingly, Bantu netted the 2005 edition of the prestigious Kora Award (the pan African equivalent of the Grammy) in the categories “Best Group West Africa” and “Best Group Africa”.

Bantu was introduced to the Nigerian audience in 1999. The group became an instant success with their radio hit singles “Nzogbu” & “Fire Inna Dancehall”. Over the years, they have consistently released videos and audio recordings of their works which has helped garner a loyal fan base and following. He has collaborated with various artists such as: Xavier Naidoo, UB40, Gentleman, Patrice, Nneka, African China, Adewale Ayuba, Abiodun, Fatai Rolling Dollar, Azadus, Mode 9, Tony Allen, Soundsultan, Harry Belafonte and Asa.

He is presently the newest judge on Project Fame West Africa!

Highlights of the past week started today’s show and it was Ade Bantu’s visit to the boot camp for a mentoring session with the contestants.

Ade Bantu is a Nigerian/German artiste and music producer who have worked with the likes of UB 40, African China, Adewale Ayuba and many others. From his wealth of experience and knowledge, he advised them broadly on issues that border on music, telling them not to limit themselves to a particular genre of music, be open to all kind of music. ‘Music is also a spiritual thing, and you are only a vessel’. Expose yourself to different music styles and be hardworking because it takes a lot of hard work, he advised further. Singing sure is a lot of hard work for these budding stars!

A brief clip of Sunday’s show dovetailed into their evening class where Uncle Ben in his class asked why they goofed at their last performances. They all gave different excuses for their poor performances...will excuses take anyone to fame? Uncle Ben in his usual attitude talked senses into them and then doled out the songs to be performed by weekend.